Fuel cells have been proposed as a power source for electric vehicles and other applications. In proton exchange membrane (PEM) type fuel cells, hydrogen is supplied as a fuel to an anode of the fuel cell and oxygen is supplied as an oxidant to a cathode of the fuel cell. A plurality of fuel cells is stacked together in fuel cell stacks to form a fuel cell system. The fuel is typically stored in large, hollow pressure vessels, such as fuel tanks, disposed on an undercarriage of the vehicle.
Current fuel tanks are manufactured using a filament wound composite method. The pressure vessels are typically multi-layered and include at least an inner shell and an outer shell. Inner shells may be manufactured using a variety of known methods including: injection molding; extrusion blow molding; blow molding; rotational molding; and the like. The inner shell is formed utilizing the rotational molding method by disposing a plurality of bosses in a die cavity with a polymer resin, heating the mold while it is rotated causing the resin to melt and coat walls of the die cavity, cooling the die, and removing the molded inner shell. The finished inner shell is fixed to the bosses at both ends. To form the outer shell, the molded inner shell may undergo a filament winding process.
Generally, the shape of a wound composite vessel depends on a manufacturer and manufacturing tolerances. Manufacturing the vessel using the filament wound composite method restricts the shape of the vessel to a simple geometric shape, such as a cylindrical shape, for example. FIG. 1 illustrates a vessel having a shape as known in the art and having straps and mounting brackets, for connecting the vessel to a carrier system. A disadvantage of this system is that the straps cannot compensate for the expansion of the vessel and may experience additional tension that in turn affects the vessel structure. A still further disadvantage is that the area for mounting the straps may be too small to properly support the straps.
It is desirable to produce a suspension system for connecting a hollow vessel to a carrier system that is versatile for use with vessels having a variety of shapes.